College-related keywords suddenly trend on local Twitter amid quarantine. Here’s why.

By
Jeline Malasig
-
April 15, 2020 - 8:46 PM
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Students walking after class hours. (The STAR/Edd Gumban)

College-related keywords and phrases trended on local Twitter as Filipinos talked about the courses they planned to take before pursuing education at tertiary level while in home quarantine due to the pandemic.

Twitter user @clarktrovela asked Filipinos about the top three courses they would have wanted to take in college and the actual course they are studying or have graduated from.

“Lapag niyo top 3 course choices niyo bago nag college. Let’s see if you were able to take up and/or graduated in any of those,” he wrote.

Clark Trovela, a registered psychometrician, added that his top preferred courses were Bachelor of Science in Biology, Bachelor of Science in Industrial Pharmacy and Bachelor of Science in Economics.

What he ended up studying and graduating from was Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Sciences.

“How about you?” Trovela asked his fellow Filipinos.

His tweet has since been retweeted by online users for 85 times and earned more than 5,400 likes as of writing.

In the replies thread, Trovela also shared Google Drive links that contained reviewers for Psychology graduates and those taking the National Medical Admission Test.

Meanwhile, his original tweet has prompted keywords such as “Actual Course,” “3rd Choice” and “BS Psych” to land in the top ten trending list of local Twitter.

Screengrab of Twitter Philippines’ top trending list as of 7:00 p.m. on April 15, 2020. (Screengrab by Interaksyon)

Aside from these, keywords Civil Engineering, BS in Accountancy and BS Nursing also landed on the top 20 trending list of Twitter Philippines.

Tweets that fell under the “Actual Course” keyword featured posts of Filipinos who either got their preferred course in college, experienced shifting, or those who completely did not take any of their preferred courses.

Tweets under the keyword “3rd Choice,” meanwhile, featured posts of Filipinos sharing insights about their course choices and those who took one of their preferred choices and finished their studies with flying colors.

Tweets under the keyword “BS Psych,” meanwhile, featured posts of Psychology students and graduates sharing tips when taking the course, as well as insights on how it is supposedly becoming more relevant in times of crises like a pandemic.

“BS Psych is trending. FYI (for your information) — We don’t read minds, we study behavior and I hope people will recognize our field not just because it’s relevant now but how important it is to take care of our mental health first,” an online user wrote. 

“Honestly my only tip for BS Psych: You may be studying to help someone with their mental health but make sure to keep your own mental health in check too. Trust me, the work will take a toll on you, but the thought of being able to help someone the way we do makes it worth it,” another online user said.

“I’m that glad that BS Psych is being appreciated because IT SHOULD BE. If you’re considering this course on college, thank you. We are needed as much as other professions because MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS,” a Filipino likewise shared. 

An academic psychiatrist observed that the novel coronavirus pandemic has extremely affected people in terms of their mental and emotional health.

“Remote working, reduced work hours and income, and uncertainty are indeed stressful,” Arash Javanbakht wrote in independent news website The Conversation.

“We are also stressed by continuous exposure to sad news, often contradictory predictions and recommendations coming from different sources. The constantly changing and evolving nature of this situation is very frustrating,” he added.

Javanbakht said that it is okay for people to “vent” and complain about the completely unpredictable situation.

“Venting our fears and concerns can be beneficial. Sharing feelings with others, just the act of verbalizing those feelings will reduce their intensity,” he shared.

Javanbakht also suggested other ways on how people can cope with stress amid the pandemic. These include limiting one’s exposure to news, keeping one’s normal routine pre-quarantine and staying physically active.

Interaksyon

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